Violence in the night‐time economy; bouncers: The reporting, recording and prosecution of assaults1*

Abstract

This paper, based on ethnographic research, is concerned with the accountability of licensed premise door staff – better known as ‘bouncers’.2 The situational dynamics of the bouncer's enacted environment ensures that theirs is a role consistently exposed to the interactions of violence. As such, allegations of assault, both upon and by door staff, are common. This paper reports upon incidents of door staff violence and why they often fail to be investigated and, when they are investigated, why they frequently fail to be successfully prosecuted at court. In doing so, the paper highlights the adopted attitudes and procedural methods employed by both bouncers and police officers, which have a detrimental impact upon the deterrent function of the criminal law. The paper ends by offering some policy prescriptions to local police managers, suggesting that the state police become more (pro)actively involved in overseeing the provision of this expanding sector of the private security industry.